Pokemon Go banned by Vietnamese companies

A teacher has abandoned her students as Pokemon fever takes hold.

Launched in Vietnam on August 6, the mobile game Pokemon Go has lured thousands of Vietnamese people into its virtual world. However, this gaming craze has hit Vietnamese companies now that staff are focusing more on the game instead of their duties.

A Saigoneer told VnExpress: “This morning, I took my kid to kindergarten but the teacher wasn’t there. She was hunting Pokemon outside and got caught by the principal.”

The parent quoted the principal, saying that the young teacher will be deducted a third of this month’s salary and be prohibited from using her smartphone during working hours. Instead the school will give her a ‘stupid phone’.

A well-known car manufacturer in Vietnam has also introduced a similar decision.

Ngo Tuan Anh, a top official from BKAV, Vietnam’s leading cyber security center, said that users need to show their locations via GPS while searching for the game's animated characters. “If they play at important venues where filming and photography are not allowed, they could cause security issues.”

Vietnamese companies are not alone in their battle against the Pokemon Go phenomenon.

Iran banned the game on August 7 as “it can pose lots of problems for the country and people in terms of security,” AFP quoted Deputy Attorney General Abdulsamad Khoram Abadi as saying.

Thailand has also banned the game inside military barracks and government security agencies. Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkumnerd told AFP reporters that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha "does not want to ban the game" but advised Thai players to "know their limits ... and use their time wisely".

Pokemon Go has reached 35 countries across the world, including Vietnam. Analytics company App Annie estimates that the game has been downloaded more than 100 million times, fetching some $10 million in revenue a day.